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Information and Updates: COVID-19 Information and Updates COVID-19

Last updated: May 4, 2020

The Museum is closed temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Province of Manitoba has announced that museums can re-open, and we're busy making plans for when and how we can safely welcome visitors again. In the meantime, we have a variety of digital tools, stories, and resources that let you discover our exhibits and explore human rights from home.

We will provide updates on this page and through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. If you have specific questions, please contact us at info@humanrights.ca.

Help for teachers

We’re providing help for teachers to deliver at-home learning about human rights. A new section of our website, called “COVID-19 – Learn at Home,” was launched on May 1.

There are free virtual lessons for high school students – where program interpreters interact with students in real time, online from their homes. And we’ve adapted our unique Be an Upstander online learning resource for Grades 5 to 8 with a new video introduction and adapted teacher guide with lesson plans to support students learning from home. Plus, teaching guides for our virtual tours are coming soon!

Explore the Museum from home

Take a trip to the Museum, even while you’re stuck at home! Our newest virtual tour takes you through some of the building’s amazing architecture – including glowing alabaster rampways, the Stuart Clark Garden of Contemplation, and the exterior glass “cloud.” You can also join tour guides Carly and Yashila for two different virtual tours through our exhibits and architecture. One tour takes you to the 7th-floor “Inspiring Change” gallery and Israel Asper Tower of Hope, while the other meanders through the “Indigenous Perspectives” and “Canadian Journeys” galleries on Level 2.

There are many other ways you can explore the Museum from home: by using our mobile app, browsing the Exhibitions page or learning about the Spirit Panels embedded on the circular "basket" theatre.

Share your story

You’re invited to share your own story of hope and inspiration by video. The Museum has accelerated the launch of this new online feature in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Share Your Story” creates an opportunity for people to connect and relay their experiences during the pandemic through short videos (up to two minutes). We are asking for stories that respond to the question: “What acts of kindness have lifted your spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic?”

“At this difficult time, we hope to encourage a focus on compassion and community, which are fundamental to human rights,” said CMHR President and CEO John Young.

Engage with human rights stories from home

You can still explore compelling stories about human rights while the Museum is temporarily closed.

Stories about compassion, tenacity, courage and resilience can help us rise to the challenges we now face from COVID-19.

The Museum has a diverse collection of online stories – from a high school student’s struggle for a racially integrated prom to Canadian musicians working to promote human rights. Our newest piece examines how graphic novels express and explore human rights issues.

Online resource for homebound kids

Looking for kids’ activities? Encourage them to become “upstanders” for human rights through our interactive student resource and teaching guide.

“Be an Upstander” helps young people learn how they can follow the example of real-life upstanders like Malala Yousafzai and Travis Price to take a stand for human rights.

As they work through the website – which includes fun drag-and-drop features – kids will learn that they too have the capacity to be a human rights upstander. They’ll then be challenged to take tangible steps to create change.

The site includes a link to a comprehensive teacher guide to help teachers or parents guide their kids through a related project.

March 13, 2020 at 1 p.m.

The Museum is temporarily closed, effective Saturday, March 14.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada’s national museums have made the decision to close across Canada to visitors and all other groups.

“We regret the impact of this decision on individuals, families, students and groups who use our facilities,” said CMHR president and CEO John Young. “However, we believe this decision is in the best interests of all communities we serve.”

We will continue to monitor the situation and will communicate with the public on this page and through all of our social media channels. Should you have any specific questions, please contact us at info@humanrights.ca.

March 13, 2020, 11 a.m.

The safety and well-being of our visitors, volunteers and staff are always our highest priority.

The Museum remains open, but we are closely monitoring developments regarding COVID-19. The Public Health Agency of Canada continues to assess the COVID-19 public health risk as “low” for the general population but notes that this could change rapidly. The Museum is prepared to respond as this public health situation evolves.

What we are doing now:

Adopting new cleaning protocols, which increase the frequency and level of cleaning and disinfecting in all areas of the Museum.

Increasing supplies of hand sanitizer stations throughout the Museum.

Suspending the volunteer-run coat check to minimize passing of personal objects. Visitors can place their belongings in self-serve lockers or open cubbies.

Advising our staff to stay home if they are sick and to self-quarantine if they are aware of potential exposure or are experiencing symptoms that may be related to COVID-19.

Cancelling all staff travel to international destinations, including the U.S. until at least April 30. Assessing all staff domestic travel on a case-by-case basis.

Over the coming days, we will be reviewing our public programming plans to ensure that we can provide appropriate physical distance between our guests. Some events may need to be cancelled or modified and we will update our website as needed.

For information about how we are working to provide safe rental spaces for our guests, please contact events@humanrights.ca.

We will update this page, as well as our social media accounts, with additional information as needed. Should you have any specific questions, please contact us at info@humanrights.ca.